Florida Supreme Court halts the execution of police officer convicted of raping and murdering a girl
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily stayed by the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday.
The court issued a decision stay on death row It was planned for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett You will receive a three-drug injection on Tuesday at the Florida State Penitentiary near Starke. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of first-degree murder and sexual assault.
As part of the appeal process, Duckett had requested DNA testing, which he claimed could exonerate him. The circuit court granted the request and the tests are still pending. The Florida Supreme Court also ordered the state to address the DNA testing status by Friday at 5 p.m.
It is unclear when the execution will take place if the postponement is not lifted by Tuesday.
with one A record 19 executions were broken last yearRepublican Gov. Ron DeSantis carried out more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
According to court records, Duckett was working as a police officer in Mascotte, a small city west of Orlando. He was on patrol on the night of May 11, 1987, when 11-year-old Teresa McAbee disappeared. He was last seen getting into Duckett’s patrol car at a convenience store.
McAbee’s body was found the next morning in a lake less than a mile from the store, authorities said. The medical examiner determined that the woman was sexually assaulted and then strangled. Blood and hair linked him to Duckett. Different tire tracks found in the lake matched the tires of Mascotte patrol cars. Duckett and McAbee’s fingerprints were found on the hood of Duckett’s car.
Three teenage girls testified at the hearing that Duckett had previously walked each of them around and made sexual advances.
Total 47 people He was executed in the USA in 2025. Florida led the way with a series of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas ranked second with five executions each.
According to the Department of Corrections, all executions in Florida are carried out by lethal injection using a sedating, paralyzing and heart-stopping drug.
